Anyone who has ever been to the theatre with me will know that I am not the most tolerant of people. I despise people who talk after the house lights dim or rustle sweetie wrappers or leave their mobile phones on and text by the glow of their screen. I hate it so much that sometimes I have to be restrained from taking action!
So you might imagine that a schools’ performance at one of the world’s leading opera houses was perhaps not an ideal thing for me to attend and in part you would be right. But I am also passionate about young people being introduced to theatre and to live music of all kinds. After all, how else will they learn about the experience of live performing arts when for many their view is one based on the fast forward, pause and rewind of the digital age.
The rural idyl that is Glyndebourne was awash with excitable children of all ages from tiny to teen. Some were in uniforms and some had taken the challenge and were in long dresses and bow ties which was simply charming.
Inside the auditorium it was like a sea of busy ants as their tangible excitement grew, but the minute the lights dimmed there was collective hushing and shushing and they fell silent. A jolly man came onto the stage and gave a short but easy to follow talk on what they were about to see, explaining the form from recitative to aria and demonstrating with a funny parody of Incey Wincey Spider. They loved that and they loved it when the red velvet curtain of the set finally opened and the overture started.
The performance was of course sublime, the wit easy, the singing exceptional and the production lavish. And it held the audience rapt, really it did. Well okay there was a bit of shuffling and some whispering, but hardly any more than you get in any audience and I will say that the worst offender was a teacher close by who seemed to think it was okay to explain things as they went along. Maybe she hadn’t spotted the surtitles?
Being me I had to ask some of the children close by what they thought and on the whole they thoroughly enjoyed it. One boy thought it a little long, but then he also thought that the recent Harry Potter film had been too long too.
Introducing young people to opera in this way is essential and hats off to Glyndebourne for doing what they do and doing it so well. This is investment in the arts for the future, developing an audience for years to come. If only one per cent of the children who saw Don Pasquale return then the whole thing was worthwhile but I suspect that, judging by the wide ovation that they gave, many more will return to see some form of live theatre in the future and know how to behave.
Having already given this production a five star review, this time I will give my stars to the audience and to the Glyndebourne company, and yes, it’s five stars again
Glyndebourne, 20 October
Rating: 
Andrew Kay
